I’m looking for advice from anyone whose had retro fit double glazing added to their windows.

I live in a busy street with lots of traffic most times of the day. My house is about 15 years old and whilst the wall cavities are insulated the external cladding is Hardie panelling it doesn’t have the insulation properties of brick. My lounge/hifi room is at the front of the house and has two windows facing the street. The windows are standard 3mm glass.

I’m really getting sick of the traffic noise and want to do something about it. I think the majority of the noise is coming through the glass and in reality I can’t really change anything other than the glass.

I’ve looked at a few options including completely replacing the widows to double or every triple glazed, retro fit double glazed such as Magnatek or Exoglass where a second frame is installed with a 10mm acrylic window is added and lastly plain old thicker glass.

The first option of a full window replacement is probably not my first choice given the cost, major work required and the fact that the wall is Hardie Tech and will bleed noise anyway. The last choice of thicker glass isn’t going to be as effective as option 1 or 2 and probably won’t offer much in the way of thermal advantage either.

Retro double glazing would be my preferred option as it’s relatively affordable, doesn’t require major work and and from what I read online does offer both noise reduction and some thermal protection. I understand there is a difference between thermal and noise double glazing protection, I’m more interested in the noise reduction.

I’m not planning to rebuild my house, just looking for advice on the addition of double glazing. Any advice would be appreciated. 

 

I've looked a bit at this because I'm sure my windows are paper thin. Would love to replace window units with double glazing, but cost. I did read that having the 2 panes at different thickness was the best for sound. Looked at the add on acrylic panel with magnetic strip's, can't open window easily, just thought they were a pain. Perhaps a laminated sheet using 3mm and 4mm could be effective as another option. Maybe speak to a glazier?

I have an awning window with magnetic retrofit double glazing in my listening room.

 

It is very effective at reducing the ingress of noise from our A/C unit. The window is set in a brick wall though, so I can't comment on how effective it will be for you.

 

As it is a full height window, the retrofit was done in 2 pieces, so make it possible for 1 person to remove and replace the smaller panel. It's still very heavy though, as the panel is maybe 1.5cm thick

How much for both Windows.

To save cost of patching and repair you can remove the original panel,but keeping the frame.

Install the new Windows from external.

 

For couple Windows price should be affordable

 

Traffic noise is getting into the house via the walls, the ceiling, the windows, and ground conduction vibration through the floor. Throwing money to improve the windows is only going to have a minimal affect on the noise intrusion into the house. To do it properly will cost a fortune. To not do it properly will just cost money without achieving much.

3 hours ago, brodricj said:

Traffic noise is getting into the house via the walls, the ceiling, the windows, and ground conduction vibration through the floor. Throwing money to improve the windows is only going to have a minimal affect on the noise intrusion into the house. To do it properly will cost a fortune. To not do it properly will just cost money without achieving much.

Yes, I understand that. We’re on a slab so I don’t have to worry about that. Are you saying do nothing @brodricj?

What I'm saying is if you want to reduce noise intrusion spending money on the glazing will help a little bit, but of itself won't result in a quiet ambient environment inside. You will still hear the traffic noise. You also need to upgrade the window frames, and address all those other things as well. There is no easy fix for this. Roller shutters will give you some noise intrusion protection for the least outlay. You can do double glazing as a DIY project, that is what I did at home. The spacer bars and joiners and adhesive and glass are readily obtainable, the challenge is the special desiccant that goes in the spacer bars. Fortunately I was able to score some at a double glazing factory.  Store in a sealed container until ready for use. Comfort Plus 10mm for the outside glass, maybe 6mm laminate for the inside, and a 10mm spacer bar. It is important to have cut edges machined otherwise the glass will eventually crack. The window size will be a consideration as the double glazed panels are heavy and you just can't glue them into existing frames built for 4mm float glass.

 

Thicker glass makes heaps of difference with less mucking around.

(unless the frames can't accommodate it.)

 

Have a read here............. https://buildingconnection.com.au/2018/03/05/acoustic-glazing-for-noise-attenuation/

I had a bespoke door and frame made for my mancave and I went to the big glass manufacturer up here G.James Glass to get double glazed panels to put in it and the manager overheard my order and he said you don't want double glazing for acoustic benefits you need acoustic double glazing and there's a major difference between the two types.

 

The door mutes the sound escaping into the rest of the house to a dull muted sound, even when I have the wick turned up a bit.

The difference between the two as he explained and later sent the details, is that acoustic double glazing is made up of two molecularly different pieces of glass whereas double glazing is made of two identically molecular pieces of glass. Once the sound gets through the first pane of glass in normal double glazing, that's it, it'll just go straight through the next panel but that's not the case with the acoustic glass.

 

 

Edit: It's not cheap.

The door in question. It's a lot of glass but it works well and if whole windows were made out of the stuff I'm betting it'd work a treat but like i said, it's not a cheap option. The glass in the door was about $560 or so from memory.

Edited December 5, 20214 yr by Luc

Noise is like water - if there's a leak then it will be found as a travel path.  Our window shutters do little because we have quite deeply recessed mortar in the brickwork - it's an architectural feature - but it means plenty of gaps down the guides of the shutters = leakage.

 

The greatest acoustic benefit here has been green glue and putting up more sheets of plasterboard with green glue between the new sheets and the existing drywall. So you might want to look at that solution in combination with the double glazing solution, for that wall which faces the street.

 

[Gat, I have some leftover tubes of green glue and applicator gun which I can drop off to you]

Thanks to all who have replied. I’m going to have to have a good think about my options. I don’t want to go through the expensive and difficult process of replacing the whole windows frame with double or acoustic glazing.  To do so would mean substantial work on the existing external cladding and internal wall. Likewise although I have thought about a second layer or plasterboard this again is substantial with the work required to correct the skirt, windows and frames and cornice. An amount of work that just won’t make it worth while doing, effectively a rebuild of the whole internal wall.

Maybe I can petition Vic roads to close the road to all but local traffic! Not gunna happen unfortunately.

as others have said your windows are one thing... but what about your walls ? 

 

for your walls acoustiblok is worth considering....

 

not a huge profile in au. but we bought a rolll from QLD ... used it ... it works...

 

https://www.acoustiblok.com

 

 

 

Here is the table at the end of the article I posted.....................it explains a lot.

 

 

When I did my front room that faces Sydney Airport and a train line, I used the 10.38 laminated glass........................no more noise.

I’m not really interesting in doing anything to my plaster walls be it another layer of plaster or other materials. Doing this just adds a substantial amount of work. The room is a lounge room which is the first room that people see when they enter the house, it’s not a dedicated HT room. 
I understand that just tackling the windows limits the final result, I’m not expecting miracles so I’d be happy with a reduction in noise and not elimination.

I am hopeful of getting some reduction by just tackling the windows as I do notice a slight reduction with just our Holland blinds drawn. 
I’ll stick with my original plan of additional glazing and probably a Perspex style. I just have to decide if I want to pay for something like Magnatek or a diy option.

@gat474 we were in a similar situation. 3mm glass windows with wood frames in an insulated single skin hardie weatherboard clad house. We replaced the windows with uPVC double glazing. The double glazing hugely reduced incoming noise and made the the rooms much quieter. 

Just now, greigw said:

@gat474 we were in a similar situation. 3mm glass windows with wood frames in an insulated single skin hardie weatherboard clad house. We replaced the windows with uPVC double glazing. The double glazing hugely reduced incoming noise and made the the rooms much quieter. 

That’s what I wanted to hear. Ta.

On 07/12/2021 at 12:41 PM, gat474 said:

That’s what I wanted to hear. Ta.

 

NSW Government policy was to not fund noise abatement to homes such as yours. The reason was that treating windows provided minimal noise reduction as similar amounts of noise come through the walls.

 

I changed this policy, it may still be in draft. Treatment was extended beyond just windows. 

 

You are on concrete slab, a major plus.

 

Watch out for non airtight seals behind skirting boards and architraves. Best to remove and seal gap behind them. Can negate any other treatment you do. So can gaps behind cornices. 

 

Here are the most cost effective solutions we came up with in government for lightweight buildings such as yours. Options for dB noise reduction. We did a trial on a couple of houses. MV is mechanical ventilation to get fresh air inside and to prevent mould with windows shut. 

 

Individual results will vary, as it comes down to specific detail of your home which can only be known with an inspection and in some instances removing sheeting. And is highly dependent on workmanship. 

 

Note wall treatments are additional to existing construction or remove and resheet as indicated. Windows are an additional secondary glazing system which is most cost effective. 

 

 

Edited December 24, 20214 yr by DrSK

The once quiet street we live on has since become a main road.

 

We've just ordered complete set of retro-fit double glazing along the front of our home. Our timber frames were in great condition as they're out of the elements, so we have stuck with those, and removing the colonial style framework at the same time.

Should be installed in around 4 weeks from now.

 

The original quote was just for Viridian LightBridge double glazing, however once I visited the manufacturer's website I spotted there was one offering more acoustic reduction - LightBridge Next, so we've gone with that.

 

I'll let you know how we go.

@Marc, in the end I didn’t go with the double glazing retrofit. It would have looked like retro fit and it wasn’t the look I was after.

A few months ago I had to replace some broken glass in one of the noisy windows. I was offered laminated rather than standard glass for not much extra. It was more for resistance to breakage than anything else. Turns out that laminated glass does a reasonable job on noise reduction. We got all of the glass replaced in the front windows with laminated and that combined with some decent plantation shutters has made enough of a difference to stop most of the normal traffic noise. The louder stuff still comes through but that’s probably unavoidable in a standard build house.

I am on top of a hill with a freeway 1/2k away. It got quite wearisome

We had the front facing room windows replaced with complete upvc double glazed windows from a company in Melbourne. They use one laminated sheet and one toughened sheet with an 18mm gap.

Works a treat. Still get occasional low rumbly noises from Semis pushing up hill but they are also much reduced. Other traffic and general noises greatly diminished.

We ended up redoing every window and door in the house. Bonus is thermal benefits as well. 

We have a rear sunroom with good quality floor to ceiling wooden windows. Same company replaced every pane with similar.

I also have insulation (Rockwool) pumped into the wall. (Brick veneer and weatherboard mix.)

Edited October 15, 20223 yr by bazzle

We've had our new double glazing retrofit in for over a week now. Obvious thermal benefits, and I noticed our ducted gas heating unit turning off and on far less. The house is holding temperature much better - this benefit alone will probably offset the cost some what over a few years. 

 

The other benefit was aesthetic, with the colonial style windows on an otherwise fully renovated and more contemporary style home now being replaced by single panes of glass. Much neater (and easier to clean!).

 

Finally, sound insulation - yes it's much better. Interestingly, noises closer to the windows themself are only slightly reduced - if at all. Ie. birds in the tree just meters from the window still seem as loud as they were. However, street noise (approx 20-25m from the windows) has been vastly reduced and the odd Harley is still noticeable, but doesn't rumble through the house like it once did. When the roads were wet, you could hear the whoosh of every car. Now you don't notice them. The trucks are still heard, but often quiet enough to not really notice them.

 

I think with the other benefits the cost was worth it overall - but if it were noise insulation alone, it would be borderline good value.

 

Hope this helps anyone else considering double glazing retrofit.

On 17/10/2022 at 5:29 AM, Marc said:

We've had our new double glazing retrofit in for over a week now. Obvious thermal benefits, and I noticed our ducted gas heating unit turning off and on far less. The house is holding temperature much better - this benefit alone will probably offset the cost some what over a few years. 

 

The other benefit was aesthetic, with the colonial style windows on an otherwise fully renovated and more contemporary style home now being replaced by single panes of glass. Much neater (and easier to clean!).

 

Finally, sound insulation - yes it's much better. Interestingly, noises closer to the windows themself are only slightly reduced - if at all. Ie. birds in the tree just meters from the window still seem as loud as they were. However, street noise (approx 20-25m from the windows) has been vastly reduced and the odd Harley is still noticeable, but doesn't rumble through the house like it once did. When the roads were wet, you could hear the whoosh of every car. Now you don't notice them. The trucks are still heard, but often quiet enough to not really notice them.

 

I think with the other benefits the cost was worth it overall - but if it were noise insulation alone, it would be borderline good value.

 

Hope this helps anyone else considering double glazing retrofit.

In 2005 I carried out a renovation for a family friend (UK). One of the jobs was to remove a large PVC sliding door (that had been installed several years prior) and install an aluminium bi-fold set. The glazed panels I removed from the slider were triple glazed, argon filled. I threw them in the skip bin. One day Australian's might, like you have, finally understand the benefits of double glazing. 

Edited October 30, 20223 yr by Crabsticks
Added UK

If anyone is after some double glazing, we will be removing a whole house full of double-glazed windows, aluminium frames, not thermally broken sometime around February (and replacing them with Polish-made Logikhaus triple-glazed windows). 

 

Detains available of you are interested

On 19/11/2021 at 1:31 PM, SGS said:

I've looked a bit at this because I'm sure my windows are paper thin. Would love to replace window units with double glazing, but cost. I did read that having the 2 panes at different thickness was the best for sound. Looked at the add on acrylic panel with magnetic strip's, can't open window easily, just thought they were a pain. Perhaps a laminated sheet using 3mm and 4mm could be effective as another option. Maybe speak to a glazier?

The gap between glass panes is important Bigger the gap more the soundproofing

 

If noise is like heat then the best thing you can do is to plug up the gaps, go round and feel for air leaks around doors windows, everything . 

ive used magnetic window layers in 2 houses, they are effective, and as said above they don’t necessarily combine well with all types of windows. They are best over fixed panes. 
acrylic is a better’ insulator than glass 

lwith Magnetite I’ve always removed them in summer but you would loose the sound insulation- but then you would if you open windows in summer, which one tends to do 

 

very informative web site on leaks:

 

https://greenityourself.com.au/

Edited April 4, 20232 yr by Peterbean
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